Advice On Audio Equipment???, I had been suggested the digidesign 002 Options

[andrew_70]

Hello to all of you knowledgeable musicians-

I am a college student who doesn't have much money to spend on a personal home recording system. I am a guitarest/singer/songwriter who wants to expand to being able to record more then one track at once. A friend in the music industry suggested the digidesign 002 rack, but unfortunately it's a little out of my price range... I'm hoping to spend under $700, because all the rest of my money is going towards important things such as an education . Does anyone else have any suggestioons on what to purchase? I have a G4 933 w/ 1.25 gigs or ram and all that good stuff... Thanks!!

Andrew Barden

[scientificbox]

if you already have mic pre-amps or a mixer the MoTU 2408 and 2408mkII are availiable used for under $500.00 and have drivers for OS 8.5 - 10.2. the Emagic 6/2 production kit is reasonably priced ( $550.00 ? ) and includes some nice software if you don't have any already. if you like protools the digi 001 is close to you price range new, and many are availiable used for a bit less. if you buy the 001 used the upgrade to version 6.1 is only $75.00 and would give you 32 audio tracks and OS X compatability.

[andrew_70]

Alright, I have some mics, but no pre amps or mixer. I haven't used pro tools, but a friend suggested it to be very useful. Would you suggest me sticking with the digi 001? It looks like it should have plenty of options for a beginner.

[pesji]

I thought that the Digi 001 was close to 900$ isn't it ?

Anyway You might also consider the mBox for 590$, doesn't deal with Midi but does a pretty good job with a Pro Tools LE under OSX.

On the mBox you can record simultanously two tracks. The preamps for the mics are not killers but I use them for acoustic guitar and it does a pretty good job, even better on vocals actually !

Pesji

If you have little preference about using Protools or not then I'd suggest not. While it is a great platform and I used it for many years, for students there are much better applications.

I currently use:

Logic Big Box
M-Audio Mobile Pre
Powerbook G4 867

My audio flies, my MIDI (Sampler Instruments) are unbeatable and I can produce whole tracks within the box. Protools relies much more heavily on audio in and out to produce music. From what I've seen Digital Performer is also an impressive package that is making huge indents in the industry particularly film and tv applications.

On the audio side, get some good pre amps and a decent input box. Even a Edirol UA3 will do the job if you have a mixer with good preamps. Take a look around at the various configuration options but beware of Music Industry types. They will swear Protools is the be all and end all of audio production. They are wrong.

Hope this helps a little.

C

[pesji]

They will swear Protools is the be all and end all of audio production. They are wrong.

No sir I guess you're wrong on that point whether you like it or not Pro Tools is one of the most appreciate standard software in audio edition and many professional studio and artist use it for their need.

As far as I'm concerned, I am a newbie in audio recording but my mBox give me satisfaction up to now and I am a musician not familiar at all with all that computer stuff .
You're right by saying that andrew should check all tyope of options and that's exactly what he ask, many people on the french side of MM also appreciate a lot Logic and Digital performer but I don't know whether they offer something going into your budget requirement.

Pesji

I was not saying that Protools is terrible. I love the application myself. BUT I have heard many people "in the industry" saying that it is THE platform for audio applications. It's not true. Protools doesn't make great songs, that comes from the talented people.

I use Protools for Vocal comps, I use Logic for most other stuff but I would never ever say that one is superior to the other.

Anyway the question was about an interface, so all this is superfluous crap anyway. If you want protools compatability then you will have to go for a Mbox, 001 etc If not, then take a look around the web: m-audio, motu, edirol. Look at reviews of equipment in Sound on Sound (sospubs.co.uk), Musicians Friend.

But don't whatever you do let someone tell you that without Protools then you will never make anything worth while. Many people forget this fact and it is not good for the industry.

Not wishing to start a flame/platform war of any kind.

[grek30]

I'm a bit lost here... I was under the impression that Logic was/is in fact a version of Pro-Tools and is compatible with other Pro-Tools set-ups..

Right or wrong?

[rickenbacker]

Grek30 - not at all. Logic and Pro Tools are developed by two completely separate companies. However, studios often use Pro Tools hardware for their audio with a Logic front end for Midi and the GUI visual on-screen side of things. You can use Logic without Pro Tools and Pro Tools without Logic, but you can also use Logic with Pro Tools (if you have a lot of money). Does that make sense?

As for the cerithom/pesji debate, can I just say that IMHO Pro Tools is the standard in the music industry the way Quark is the standard in the publishing industry. They're both good and their adoption is widespread, but it doesn't automatically mean they're the best. They just got there first, so people keep using them. But now Quark is facing a serious challenge from the likes of InDesign, like Pro Tools is facing competition from Nuendo, Logic Platinum, DP4 etc.

Nothing wrong with Pro Tools, but a lot of the time people use a product either because everyone else does or because the place they work uses it or a friend recommends it. I spoke to Elbow (UK band) recently - they're big Pro Tools fans, but when I asked them why, they told me it was just because the producer on their first LP used it. Had he used Cubase on an Atari, something tells me that's what Elbow would be using now!

To andrew_70's original post, I'd say that if you really want to choose Pro Tools, get an Mbox to start with and see if you like it. Or download Pro Tools Free first and get a really cheap interface.

But for the money you mention, why not source a secondhand MOTU 828? You get AudioDesk software with that, so you can lay tracks down straight away without spending another penny (no Midi, though) and you've got an excellent box for routing audio into your Mac. You wouldn't need another mixer and the mic preamps (2) are actually very good.

Plus you can switch to another sequencer app at any time and still use the 828, which I don't think is true of any Digi hardware - you're stuck with Pro Tools LE. Plus any nice plug-ins cost a bundle for Pro Tools compared to VST or AU versions.

Nothing wrong with Pro Tools, but...

[pesji]

Good Point Rickenbacker I didn't either try to say that Pro Tools was the best but just that it was the standard: point!

I also recommend the mBox cause I am using it and don't have any other experience but what I learn from the french side of MM is that they're a lot of cheap interface but often showing delay in the audio acquisition!

And just to make things clear PT free is great but only work on Native OS9 and not on the new macs which only have the "Classic" OS9 emulation So check which Mac you want to use.

Pesji